| 1 | 1 | | 84R11593 BEF-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1808 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the confidentiality and use of information related to a |
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| 8 | 8 | | taxpayer subject to audit by the comptroller. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 111.006, Tax Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (j) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) The following matter is confidential and may not be used |
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| 14 | 14 | | publicly, opened to public inspection, or disclosed except as |
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| 15 | 15 | | permitted by this section: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) a federal tax return or federal tax return |
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| 17 | 17 | | information required to have been submitted to the comptroller with |
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| 18 | 18 | | a state tax return or report; [and] |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) all information secured, derived, or obtained by |
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| 20 | 20 | | the comptroller or the attorney general during the course of an |
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| 21 | 21 | | examination of the taxpayer's books, records, papers, officers, or |
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| 22 | 22 | | employees, including an examination of the business affairs, |
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| 23 | 23 | | operations, source of income, profits, losses, or expenditures of |
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| 24 | 24 | | the taxpayer; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (3) information that identifies a taxpayer the |
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| 26 | 26 | | comptroller is auditing or intends to audit, including the name, |
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| 27 | 27 | | address, telephone number, electronic mail address, taxpayer |
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| 28 | 28 | | identification number, or employer identification number of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | taxpayer or an owner, director, officer, or employee of the |
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| 30 | 30 | | taxpayer. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (j) Information made confidential by Subsection (a)(3) may |
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| 32 | 32 | | be disclosed to the taxpayer or to a person designated by the |
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| 33 | 33 | | taxpayer. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. Section 111.0075(b), Tax Code, is amended to |
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| 35 | 35 | | read as follows: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (b) A person who obtains information described by |
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| 37 | 37 | | Subsection (a) and who is not a taxpayer to whom the information |
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| 38 | 38 | | relates may not [, before the sixth day after the date the |
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| 39 | 39 | | comptroller made the information available to the person,] use the |
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| 40 | 40 | | information for the direct solicitation of business or employment |
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| 41 | 41 | | for pecuniary gain. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 3. Section 111.0075(c), Tax Code, is repealed. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 4. Section 111.0075, Tax Code, as amended by this |
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| 44 | 44 | | Act, applies only to the use of information on or after the |
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| 45 | 45 | | effective date of this Act. The use of information before the |
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| 46 | 46 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 47 | 47 | | date the information was used, and the former law is continued in |
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| 48 | 48 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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